EDO8170 - Fordington Farmhouse, Alington Road, Dorchester; evaluation 2024

Two trenches (Trenches 1–2), of nominal size 10 m by 1.6 m and 20 m by 1.6 m, were excavated in the locations shown on Figure 3. Both trenches were mechanically excavated down on to the top of the natural deposits, using a 5-ton tracked slew fitted with a toothless grading bucket. In Trench 1, the natural chalk bedrock (102) was revealed across the base. In the western part of the trench the chalk was slightly broken up with dark soil between and rare small patches of reddish-brown clay. In the eastern part of Trench 1 the top of the chalk was solid and unweathered (Plate 1). The natural chalk in Trench 2 was the same as in the west part of Trench 1 and was disturbed by tree roots (Plate 2). ‘The evaluation has revealed a small number of features of low to medium significance, which have the potential to add to our knowledge and understanding of the medieval/post-medieval Fordington open field system. In addition to these features, no trace of the ditch of the Alington Avenue Double Ring-Ditch monument was found, which has its own archaeological implications. Boundary Ditch 112: Part of a boundary ditch 1.05 m wide and 0.56 m deep was exposed. The ditch was aligned roughly NNE-SSW and had silted up naturally. The ditch was dug in a long grassland environment, probably part of the boundary for a trackway accessing the Fordington open field system, probably in the medieval or post-medieval period. It was later part of a hedged boundary to a small enclosure within the open field system in the eighteenth century. It had completely silted up probably during the nineteenth century. Wall 111: The stone wall 111 runs across the top of the infilled boundary ditch 112 and appears to be a redefinition of the same boundary. Historic map evidence suggests it was built some time before the late nineteenth century and continued to define the western side of a trackway. The wall formed the boundary between the buildings of Fordington Farm and the surrounding farmland until the 1980s. The current entrance into Fordington Farm utilises the last remnant of the former trackway. Bronze Age Double Ring-Ditch: No trace of the Alington Avenue Bronze age Double Ring-Ditch monument was found. It is unclear whether there was a causeway in the west end of the monument or whether Trench 1 was not positioned in the correct position to pick up the ditch. Without further investigation, the reason the Bronze Age ditch was not revealed cannot be determined. Other Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology: The results of the previous archaeological investigations at Alington Avenue in 1985 and west of Fordington Farm in 1986 (Davies et al. 2002; Woodward et al. 1986) on either side of the current site suggest there is a significant tailing off in the density of archaeological features to the west. The lack of evidence for any prehistoric or Roman features or monuments revealed by the evaluation could argue that the density of archaeology seen at Alington Avenue has already dropped off on the present site, suggesting it lies in the space between the Bronze Age barrows and lies beyond the main focus of the Roman settlement and cemetery.’